Food and beverage firms switch on to social media

But there are risks associated with having a social media presence, Andrew Terry, a partner with legal firm Eversheds warned. The medium is all about a “conversation​” rather than a one-way flow of information, said Terry.

Corporate research has shown that 56% of companies have a Facebook page and about 60% have a Twitter account, he added. While food and drink companies are at the forefront of this trend, it also carries the risk of raising customer awareness about brands and adverse comment outside the owner’s control.

“You need to look at what others are doing,”​ said Terry. “It’s important you find out what other people are saying about you.”​

Reputational damage​

Risks present themselves in a number of ways, he added. This includes reputational damage or cost liability for defamatory comments that site owners might be responsible for. As a consequence, some have opted out of allowing comments to be made on their Facebook walls.

Then, there is the need to monitor third-party sites for damaging comments and intellectual property infringement.

It is imperative to have procedures in place to deal with events that might happen, warned Terry. He noted that while 78% of firms used social media, only 38% had plans to deal with potential problems.

Where comment is allowed on Facebook pages, for example, it needs to be monitored. But care needs to be taken about the selective editing of comment. For example, the ability to force internet service providers to disclose the identity of individuals making anonymous defamatory comment can be lost.

“If you have any editing control you are likely to lose that defence,”​ he said. The alternative may be to have procedures for quickly removing malicious comment.

Internal social media policies for employees are also important to avoid incidents of “cyber-bullying” and employees making derogatory comments about customers. That is especially where this has the potential to cause brand damage. ​“It’s casual comment that is permanent​,” he warned.

This raises the issues of who is responsible within companies for monitoring Twitter postings, what expertise they have and how frequently they monitor. And, he added, it is difficult to control what happens after comments have been made, since Twitter encourages broad re-use and copying of content.

Since a change in its remit earlier this year, the Advertising Standards Authority will have responsibility for scrutinising online content and enhanced sanctions of “name and shame​”, said Terry. “Nutrition and health claims will become increasingly important over the next few years,”​ he added. “You will need evidence that your product does what it claims.”​

But, he said:​ “User generated content is an area that will become quite tricky over the next couple of years.”​

Cleanse everything​

Firms will probably be fine provided they do not selectively edit customer reviews and remove ones that are not favourable. Besides, he said: “You can’t cleanse everything. Allowing negative interactive comment is much more compelling.”​

For more information about how to plan and implement a social media ​policy, make a date to attend Food Manufacture's ​2011 Product Recall conference at the National Motorcycle Museum on Wednesday November 23.

Social media consultant Matthew Yeomans will explain how to use social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, blogs and other channels to benefit your food manufacturing business.

For more information, click here or phone 01293 610433.